30 DAYS OF COSPLAY MEME.

[tenel_ka]

So like leesers, I just wiped this whole thing out in one go cause I know if I tried to actually do it for 30 days... I would fail miserably.

This post contains lots of pictures from the past decade, lots of derp and lots of colorful fabric and weirdass props. If you didn't know how dorky I really was, NOW IS YOUR CHANCE.

Star Wars, Clue, Monkey Island, Arrested Development and all kinds of other geekery under the cut!



01. Your first cosplay?

Eriko "Ellen/Ellie" Kirishima from Persona 2: Eternal Punishment. The outfit was put together in a week with help from my sister, Valerie/zoopiglet back in 2001. I had some friends FROM TEH INTERWEBBS that were going to the con as Persona 2 characters and they had no Ellie - who I adore so hard with my fangirly little heart - so I thought I'd go for it! I'm planning on remaking this outfit for Katsucon 2012 - sort of an LOL TEN ELEVEN YEARS OF ME BEING A COSPLAY DORK thing~ plus, I am forcing leesers to make the Ulala costume she's always wanted to make. <3


LOOK AT DEM MODIFICATIONS FROM CLOTHES FROM KOHLS! Pants became shorts & boot covers, haha~ XD



02. How many costumes have you done?

Let's see... if I include Halloween costumes (which I do on cosplay sites cause that is totally an excuse for me to make costumes and dress up and run around! XD) then 61. If you don't count Halloween costumes, then 52.

This giant thing below does in fact include Halloween costumes.



















I... was going to label all these but then I looked at how many there were and how late it was getting and I got lazy. You can find them all here~! XD


03. Your most recent cosplay?

L from Death Note.


LOLLIPOPS ALL DAY!



04. Your cosplay communities, where do you go to talk about cosplay?

I can be found over at cosplay.com as Tenel Ka and then over in the costume/convention forum on The Circuit Board as hexterah!



05. Blatant self plug! Link us to your cosplay page, be it dA, ACP, Coscom, whatever!

cosplay.com: http://www.cosplay.com/member/47810/
dA: http://holler-you-home.deviantart.com/
ACP: http://www.acparadise.com/acp/display.php?a=72208 (which I need to update lololol)
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/zhobotnet/115235818536075



06. Your favorite cosplay? (that you have done)

Oh goodnessssssssss, I love them alllllll. D: Probably Young Jedi Knights Tenel Ka and Mrs. White from Clue. When I first started cosplaying in 2001 (seriously cannot believe it's been that long :T), Tenel Ka and Mrs. White were two costumes I always thought, "It would be so awesome if I could do those one day, but I'll never be able to."

And today I can say, "OMG I DID THOSE I CAN'T BELIEVE IT HUZZAH!"

They're two of my absolute favorite characters and to say I was able to put together those outfits makes me absolutely giddy, so those two definitely have special places in my nerdy heart.



I'll actually be remaking parts of the Young Jedi Knights outfit (for Katsucon 2012 because of/with a possible YJK GROUP LOL OMG KAYLA AS ZEKK?) here soon and I do want to wear Mrs. White again. So these costumes are definitely still around and still some of my favorites. XD

Besides those, my Little Sister (BioShock), Elaine Marley (Monkey Island), Ophelia (Brutal Legend) and Barbie (Toy Story 3)... are all some of my favorites as well. :DDDD


07. The character you have cosplayed that is most similar to you? (if none that you have cosplayed, then one that you will cosplay)



Probably a mix of Buster Bluth (I am so awkward - so, so very) and, oh gosh, I don't even know. IDEAS, ANYONE? D:


08. Your cosplay plans for the rest of the year? (if you have no more for this year, then do next year!)

I just finished Miss Aubrey from Dance Central, which I'll hopefully wearing to either D*C, Anime USA or MAGFest.



And then the rest!



June (9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors), Jasmine Jolene (BioShock), Tenel Ka (two outfits - Warrior Queen Momma and Conviction back cover), Meg Masters (Supernatural), Sylvia Christel (No More Heroes), remake of Ellie Kirishima (Persona 2)

And now thanks to evil lusa_thul and evil helplessdancer, this has been added to my list for Dragon*Con this year...





09. The dream cosplay that might just happen?

Lily from Legend! BOTH OUTFITS, MAYBE?????? I'm crossing my fingers! Besides Mrs. White and YJK Tenel Ka, those are two costumes I have always wanted to make/wear - even before I started cosplaying. LEGEND WAS MY CRACK WHEN I WAS LITTLE. <3333



There were phases. One phase was wanting her white dress as my wedding dress. Then getting into middle school and my goth phase -- the black one was gonna be my wedding dress. DAT MOVIE. XD



10. The dream cosplay that will never happen?

Sindel (Mortal Kombat 3). I just don't have the body (too short! XD) or the skill (HOW DO I MAKE BODYSUITS AND THAT COLLAR AND THAT WIG I JUST... WHAT?) for it. But I love me some Sindel and I love me some Mortal Kombat. XDDDD





11. Something cosplay-related that you will never do? (eg. crossplay, cosplay from a certain series)

Wear anything too revealing, I think. I'm totally self conscious when it comes to that. I'm not model thin and any muscle I might have is hidden under a nice comfy/toasty layer of pudge, lololol. XDDDDD Ophelia and Barbie were cutting it for me and if Nate had a nickel for every time I asked him, "IS ANYTHING STICKING OUT? DO I LOOK FUNNY? IS MY MUFFIN TOP SHOWING?" -- he'd be rich.

Refusing to crossplay does not compute for me. Because a lot of my favorite characters are dudes and half the time they have amazing outfits. Just because they are dudes - that never stops me, haha~ XDD LET'S LOOK AT AN INFOGRAPHIC:

(NOTE: this infographic does not count any femme!versions of characters or random things such as The Tribe/zombie/pirate/etc.)

WOMENS - 23:


MENS - 20:

(The zombie stormtrooper stands for Kale Longo, hahaha.)


SO THERE YOU GO. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY GENDERNESS ON MY COSPLAY ROSTER. I love m'boys, lololol.



12. Your cosplay idol?

Pretty much everyone I know personally who cosplays. The fact that I have met so many awesome and talented and darling people in this hobby still floors me. ;-; ILU GUYZ <3


13. Your cosplay specialty? (ie. something that seems to apply to a large amount of your cosplays, it could be a specific series, or a common feature in their appearance, such as glasses)

ASSCAPES? No, sorry. I just love asscapes, I had to mention it somewhere.


14. Your cosplay-making habits? (eg. singing while working on cosplay)

Putting on last.fm and swaying to music while I sew. I don't know. It helps somehow. Also, talking to the sewing machine, paint brush, whatever I'm currently working on. I have conversations with those bitches. Especially when they aren't working the way I had planned.


15. Your least favorite thing about cosplay?

When I have an idea of how to put something together/how it will work and then when I try it -- IT DOESN'T WORK AT ALL. This is also known as FRUSTRATING SHIT. Also, there is dramu in some aspects of the cosplay world and that is always depressing. D:


16. Do you belong to any cosplay groups? If so, what are they?

Not technically. But Erin and Ronnie and I always joke about the Rhythm Bandits. ONE DAY WE WILL REALLY PUT IT TOGETHER~ I guess you could also say zhobot.net has its own cosplay group with me and Nate, hahah~

REALLY THOUGH, I end up cosplaying with a lot of the same people cause we like the same stuff and I love them so much so it's all good. <3


LOOK AT SOME OF THESE SPECIAL PEOPLE I KNOW. Seriously, I had a billion photos I wanted to put here. So hard to make a little collage and not a giant 384728374 x 98792034293 pixel collage. I ended up picking at random, lololol.



17. What events have you cosplayed to?

2011: Katsucon 17, Tekkoshocon 9, Dragon*Con
2010: Katsucon 16, Balticon, Dragon*Con
2009: Katsucon 15, Dragon*Con
2008: Katsucon 14, Dragon*Con, Anime USA 10
2007: Katsucon 13, Dragon*Con, Anime USA 9
2006: Dragon*Con
2005: Katsucon 11, Celebration III, Dragon*Con, Anime USA 7
2004: Katsucon 10, Otakon 11, Dragon*Con
2003: Katsucon 9, Otakon 10, Dragon*Con, Anime USA 5
2002: Katsucon 8
2001: Katsucon 7



18. What is your best cosplay memory?

Anytime I'm dressed as something completely obscure and someone, even if it's just one person, knows what I am. Like the time we had our few Long Walkers and we were crossing the street from the Hyatt to the Marriott one year at Dragon*Con and someone stopped us and was all, "OH MY GOD THE LONG WALK I LOVE THAT BOOK YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING" - I wanted to cry and hug the shit out of him but THE TEARS ON MY FACE WOULD MESS UP MY BULLET HOLE MAKEUP.

Also, last year at Dragon*Con when I was in the Jedi Strike Team jumpsuit, holding a sub sandwich and my lightsaber in the hotter-than-hell food court looking like straight-up crap and a guy comes up and goes, "...ARE YOU TENEL KA FROM THE STAR WARS BOOKS?" And I nod excitedly and furiously and smile and he asks for a photo and I freak out cause non-descript jumpsuit w/ voxyn rips + rancor tooth lightsaber I finished painting days before wearing this costume + some braids in my hair was enough for someone who knew the character. THIS! IS! SPARTA STAR WARS EXPANDED UNIVERSSSSSSSE. <3


DEM BOYS.


19. What is your worst cosplay memory?

I don't think I really have one. MAYBE THE TIME MY MRS. WHITE DRESS RIPPED WHEN I GOT BACK TO THE ROOM. XDDD I wanted to wear that costume again at some point and I haven't had the heart yet to look at the dress to see how bad it is... and it's three years later. It's still packed away in a Space Bag.


After the rip! You can see the back slit in the dress - it's the lining inside that part, I believe.



20. Have you won any cosplay awards?

Noooo. Then again, I am too chicken to enter any contests or masquerades cause everyone elses stuff looks SO FRIGGIN' AMAZING OH MAN. XD



21. Show us your best cosplay derp photo!

C-can there be only one? I... I have too many. Especially with Nate for some reason. I guess the derp just flows when we're together, what can I say. D:













And this is only the beginning. :T


22. Have you worn cosplay in a regular situation? (eg. at school, to work)

I wore my James Sunderland (Silent Hill 2) outfit to school in high school on Halloween. People actually got it. Then again, I hung with all the other geeks/gamers/awesome people. XD


23. Your most expensive cosplay?

DIS BITCH PICTURED BELOW. It was a combo of the wig and shoes and unitard. I've never really spent a whole lot on one single costume. Sometimes Tenel Ka costumes run me up a bit cause of the types of fabric I end up using and so on, but nothing too drastic. I usually get a lot of stuff from the thrift store and modify the crap out of it.




24. Your most comfortable cosplay and most uncomfortable cosplay?

MOST COMFORTABLE: Dr. Cube, Elliot Reid, Lisa Garland... do you see a pattern here? SCRUBSSSSSSSS. XD Although, Lisa's scrubs kind of chafed everywhere, lolololol. Besides those, hands down, Chris Chambers. T-SHIRT AND JEANS, BRO.





LEAST COMFORTABLE: Barbie (Toy Story 3). MOTHER EFFING BARBIE, MY GAWD. The shoes squished my toes like mad and the wig attempted to rip my scalp off. When we got back to the room at Katsucon and I took both of those things off and collapsed on the bed -- HEAVENS! This is why Barbie isn't coming to Dragon*Con. D: Not until I fix the wig at least.




25. The cosplay you put the most effort into?

Probably a tie here between Drowning Doom!Ophelia (Brutal Legend) and Tenel Ka (Tempest cover, new version). Ophelia - the cutting of the shirt (and then sewing the little leftover pieces to the neck) and the addition of all the skirt mess by my feet was a bitch. And then Tenel Ka and those frickin' scales. XD


(I LOVE ME SOME see_aphy_be FOR THIS MAKEUP~ <3333)





26. Any unfinished costumes? Will you ever finish them?

Mitsuru from Persona 3. Red Scout from Team Fortress 2. The Witch from Left 4 Dead. I'm not sure on any of them. My excitement for the Mitsuru costume had passed, as much as I love her and Persona 3. The Scout, maybe one day. And I have most of the stuff I need for the Witch except a wig and the makeup (or knowledge of how to do it, lolol) - plus, it's a little less clothing then I usually wear at cons, so I don't know, haha~ XD



27. How many wigs do you own? Which is your favorite?

WIGVENTORY! I think my Santa wig is my favorite. Of course, when I wore Santa to Katsucon and stuff, it never cooperated and sat the way it was supposed to. But when it works, I looooooove the way it looks~ <3333



I have around eleven (a couple of which I need to sell). There are more than that, but the others are ghetto old ones I have retired long ago (LIKE THE WRESTLER STING WIG THAT MY SISTER WAS AWESOME WITH AND SHE TURNED IT INTO AN ELLIE WIG IN 2001~ XD)...


28. Where do you work on your cosplays and where do you store them when they’re done?

MY MAGICAL CRAFTY BASEMENT OF DOOM! It's the same place my computer and Xbox/Wii/etc. are, so I have access to references on the computer if I need them for my costumes/craftys, Netflix and last.fm. As for costume storage, they're all stored in a bunch of giant plastic containers. I need to go through them, now that I think about it. I need to find Peter McVries and Hannah Solo for D*C this year!


29. What is your favorite cosplay item? (eg. a pair of shoes, a wig)

Oooohhh, I have a lot. XDDD All of my Tenel Ka sabers, for one. I have five of them (geek central, paging Heather :B). Three I have made (two with the help of my sister) and two from the magical land of the internets. I am also in love with my Tenenbaum shoes, my Army trophies for Buster, my Boo'ya Moon garland, my Warriors vest and the pie box Nate and I made for the Pushing Daisies costumes!



I AM ATTACHED TO EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE WHEN I COSPLAY. D:



30. Describe cosplay in three words. No more, no less.

Friends <33333~ Creativity. FIERCE.



TIME TO GO READ THE NEW BIOSHOCK NOVEL OH SNAAAAAAAAP

Comments

[tenel-ka.livejournal.com]

Agggggh, I've always wanted to go back to Otakon but it's so close to Dragon*Con and the hotels always sell out so fast that I can never manage it~ ;-;